Blaming Lee Jun-seok, who had no information or financial contribution in the land purchase process, is wrong
Park Soo-young: "Those so-called democratization forces spew harsh criticism through guilt by association"
People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok is delivering opening remarks at the Kwanhun Forum held on the 3rd at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] In response to the controversy over the violation of the Farmland Act by the father of Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, key figures of the People Power Party have pushed back against the Democratic Party of Korea's offensive. They argue that holding Lee responsible when he was only 18 years old at the time his father purchased the farmland is nothing but guilt by association.
On the 4th, Hong Joon-pyo, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, stated on social media (SNS), "The issue with Rep. Yoon Hee-sook's father's land speculation revolves around whether Rep. Yoon was involved, so I did not comment initially. However, the violation of the Farmland Act by Lee Jun-seok's father when Lee was an 18-year-old studying abroad is a matter in which Lee had absolutely no involvement," adding, "The Democratic Party's attack on Lee over this is truly a wrongful act."
Hong criticized, "They should stop it," and said, "It is no different from failing to see the log in one's own eye while pointing out the speck in another's."
Earlier, the Democratic Party, through a spokesperson's statement, said, "Although Lee was an outsider and not subject to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission's investigation, given the social issues surrounding real estate speculation, he should have conducted a self-check on his family's real estate holdings," and added, "We hope Lee's leniency toward People Power Party lawmakers' violations of the Farmland Act was not due to a sense of shared suffering."
Another presidential candidate, former Rep. Yoo Seung-min, also stated on SNS, "The Democratic Party should stop the low-level political attack linking Lee Jun-seok with Yoon Hee-sook and calling for resignation," explaining, "In Yoon Hee-sook's case, the two key issues were whether her father obtained information from Rep. Yoon when purchasing land, and whether any of the purchase funds came from Rep. Yoon. Neither of these applies to Lee. An 18-year-old student had no information to give his father nor any money," he pointed out.
Former Rep. Yoo added, "Has the Democratic Party forgotten former President Roh Moo-hyun's cry, 'Are you telling me to abandon my wife because of my father-in-law?'" and stated, "No one should be criticized for actions they did not commit."
People Power Party Rep. Park Soo-young also said, "The opposition party and media are making a fuss over the farmland purchased by Lee's father," and stated, "To begin with, the opposition and media need to study the Constitution again." Referring to Article 13 of the Constitution, which prohibits guilt by association, Rep. Park criticized, "Those who claim to be democratization forces inserted the prohibition of guilt by association into the Constitution during the authoritarian government era, yet they are openly spewing remarks that amount to guilt by association."
Rep. Park criticized, "In this case, the land was purchased by Lee's father when Lee was an 18-year-old student abroad, so Lee was not a public official at the time and could not have used insider information, meaning this should not even be a subject of controversy."
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